It would have been a surprise if this study had turn out differently. WebMD reports that a new study from the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh found that happily married women tend to sleep better than women in unhappy marriages. The study examined date from 1,938 married women aged 42 to 52.
Participants were asked to rate their degree of happiness in their marriage from 1 to 7, with 7 being the happiest. They were also asked if they had difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or whether they woke early without being able to return to sleep.
The researchers looked at several other factors that might contribute to sleeplessness, such as a woman's social support network, depressive symptoms, economic hardship and employment status, alcohol and caffeine consumption, presence of children in the home, sexual activity, age, and hormonal status.
Even after taking these into account, the researchers found that women with higher reported levels of happiness in marriage had a lower risk of sleep disturbances, compared to women who report less happiness in their marriages.
It's easy to see how an unhappy marriage could disrupt sleep patterns. Sometimes happily couples can disrupt each other's sleep as well like when there is snoring involved. Lemon Drop also points to this study that found women sleep less soundly when they share a bed so maybe the best sleeper would be a happily married women who sleeps in her own bed.
